Method and apparatus for compressing neural network

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for compressing a neural network are provided. A specific embodiment of the method includes: acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network; selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; performing the following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and determining the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and storing the compressed neural network. This embodiment achieves efficient compression of the neural network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application no. 201711478743.X, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) on Dec. 29, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of computer technology, specifically to the field of Internet technology, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for compressing a neural network.

BACKGROUND

Recently, with the continuous development of artificial intelligence, the application range of neural networks is also constantly expanding. Here, the neural network is an abbreviation of artificial neural network. The neural network may be applied to a server to process images, texts, audios, and the like. Certainly, now the neural network may also be included in a client application. A user may edit images, texts, audios, etc. through the neural network in the client application installed on the terminal device.

Existing neural networks usually take up a lot of storage space, such as disk space or memory space. If the users install a lot of applications including neural networks on their device (e.g., a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet), the device may have less available storage space, and abnormal conditions such as slow running and downtime may occur on the device.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure propose a method and apparatus for compressing a neural network.

In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for compressing a neural network, including: acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network; selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; performing the following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and determining the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and storing the compressed neural network.

In some embodiments, the selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer includes: selecting, in response to the neural network including a convolutional layer and a fully connected layers, at least one of at least one convolutional layer or at least one fully connected layers as the to-be-compressed layer.

In some embodiments, the quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method includes: performing the following quantifying training operations: determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer; quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on the training sample using the machine learning method; and stopping execution of the quantifying training operations in response to determining that an accuracy of the current trained neural network is not lower than a preset accuracy; and expanding the specified number and re-executing the quantifying training operations in response to determining that the accuracy of the currently trained neural network is lower than the preset accuracy.

In some embodiments, the determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer includes: sorting the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer according to the parameter values, and dividing the sorted parameters into the specified number of parameter sequences; determining, for each of the parameter sequences, the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences; and generating the set of mapping values from the determined mapping values corresponding to the specified number of parameter sequences respectively.

In some embodiments, the determining the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences includes: determining the parameter value of the parameter in an intermediate position in the parameter sequence as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence in response to determining that a number of the parameters in the parameter sequence is an odd number.

In some embodiments, the determining the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences further includes: determining an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence, and determining the average value as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence.

In some embodiments, the quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values includes: determining, for each of the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, a target parameter sequence in which the parameter is located in the specified number of parameter sequences, and setting the each of the parameters to the mapping value corresponding to the target parameter sequence in the set of mapping values.

In some embodiments, the expanding the specified number includes: increasing the specified number by a preset value.

In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for compressing a neural network, including: an acquisition unit, configured to acquire a to-be-compressed trained neural network; a selection unit, configured to select at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; a processing unit, configured to perform the following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and a storing unit, configured to determine the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and store the compressed neural network.

In some embodiments, the selection unit includes: a selection subunit, configured to select, in response to the neural network including a convolutional layer and a fully connected layers, at least one of at least one convolutional layer or at least one fully connected layers as the to-be-compressed layer.

In some embodiments, the processing unit includes: a first processing subunit, configured to perform the following quantifying training operations: determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer; quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on the training sample using the machine learning method; and stopping execution of the quantifying training operations in response to determining that an accuracy of the current trained neural network is not lower than a preset accuracy; and a second processing subunit, configured to expand the specified number and re-execute the quantifying training operations in response to determining that the accuracy of the currently trained neural network is lower than the preset accuracy.

In some embodiments, the first processing subunit includes: a dividing module, configured to sort the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer according to the parameter values, and divide the sorted parameters into the specified number of parameter sequences; a determination module, configured to determine, for each of the parameter sequences, the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences; and a generation module, configured to generate the set of mapping values from the determined mapping values corresponding to the specified number of parameter sequences respectively.

In some embodiments, the determination module is further configured to: determine the parameter value of the parameter in an intermediate position in the parameter sequence as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence in response to determining that a number of the parameters in the parameter sequence is an odd number.

In some embodiments, the determination module is further configured to: determine an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence, and determine the average value as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence.

In some embodiments, the first processing subunit includes: a setting module, configured to determine, for each of the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, a target parameter sequence in which the parameter is located in the specified number of parameter sequences, and set the each of the parameters to the mapping value corresponding to the target parameter sequence in the set of mapping values.

In some embodiments, the second processing subunit is further configured to: increase the specified number by a preset value.

In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electronic device, including: one or more processors; and a storage apparatus, for storing one or more programs, the one or more programs, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the method according to any one of the embodiments in the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer readable storage medium, storing a computer program thereon, the program, when executed by a processor, implements the method according to any one of the embodiments in the first aspect.

The method and apparatus for compressing a neural network provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure select at least one layer from layers of the acquired to-be-compressed trained neural network as a to-be-compressed layer, perform specified processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network to determine the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network and store the compressed neural network. Therefore, the specified processing steps performed on the selected to-be-compressed layer are effectively utilized to quantify the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, and the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample is trained using the machine learning method, so that the neural network may be restored to the original accuracy as much as possible, thereby achieving effective compression of the neural network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

After reading detailed descriptions of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the following accompanying drawings, other features, objectives and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system architecture diagram to which the present disclosure may be applied;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for compressing a neural network according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of the method for compressing a neural network according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus for compressing a neural network according to the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a computer system adapted to implement an electronic device of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present application will be further described below in detail in combination with the accompanying drawings and the embodiments. It should be appreciated that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used for explaining the relevant disclosure, rather than limiting the disclosure. In addition, it should be noted that, for the ease of description, only the parts related to the relevant disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings.

It should also be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other on a non-conflict basis. The present application will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative architecture of a system 100 which may be used by a method for compressing a neural network or an apparatus for compressing a neural network according to the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system architecture 100 may include servers 101 and 103, and a network 102. The network 102 serves as a medium providing a communication link between the servers 101 and 103. The network 102 may include various types of connections, such as wired or wireless transmission links, or optical fibers.

The server 101 may be a server providing various services, for example, a data storage server for storing the trained neural network.

The server 103 may be a server providing various services, for example, a server for compressing a neural network. The server may acquire a to-be-compressed trained neural network, analyze the neural network, and store a processing result (for example, a compressed neural network).

It should be noted that the method for compressing a neural network according to the embodiments of the present application is generally executed by the server 103. Accordingly, the apparatus for compressing a neural network is generally installed on the server 103.

It should be noted that if the neural network acquired by the server 103 is prestored locally, the system architecture 100 may do not include the server 101.

It should be appreciated that the numbers of the servers and the networks in FIG. 1 are merely illustrative. Any number of servers and the networks may be provided based on the actual requirements.

With further reference to FIG. 2, a flow 200 of an embodiment of the method for compressing a neural network according to the present disclosure is illustrated. The flow 200 of the method for compressing a neural network includes the following steps:

Step 201, acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network.

In the present embodiment, the electronic device (e.g., the server 103 as shown in FIG. 1) on which the method for compressing a neural network operate may acquire a to-be-compressed trained neural network from a server in remote communication connection (e.g., the server 101 as shown in FIG. 1) through a wired connection or a wireless connection. Certainly, if the neural network is pre-stored locally in the electronic device, the electronic device may also acquire the neural network locally.

It should be noted that the above neural network may be a neural network occupying space exceeding an occupancy threshold. Further, the neural network may be a neural network that occupies space exceeding the occupancy threshold and is included in a client application, such as a client application suitable for mobile devices. When the neural network in the client application occupies large storage space, by compressing the neural network, the disk space or memory space of the terminal device on which the client application is installed may be saved. Moreover, when the user downloads the client application, the user's waiting time may be reduced, and the consumption of traffic may be reduced.

In addition, the neural network acquired by the electronic device may include, for example, at least one input layer, at least one hidden layer, and at least one output layer. Here, each layer of the neural network may have a corresponding number of level. For example, assuming that the neural network includes one input layer, one hidden layer, and one output layer, the input layer may be in the first layer of the neural network, and the number of level of the input layer may be 1; the hidden layer may be in the second layer of the neural network, and the number of level of the hidden layer may be 2; and the output layer may be in the third layer of the neural network, and the number of level of the output layer may be 3.

It should be noted that the neural network may refer to the artificial neural network (ANN). A neural network is usually an operational model consisting of a large number of nodes (or neurons) connected to each other. Each node may represent a specific output function, which is referred to as an activation function. The connection between every two nodes represents a weighted value for passing the connection signal, which is referred to as a weight and is deemed as the memory of the artificial neural network. Common neural networks include, for example, deep neural network (DNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), and recurrent neural network (RNN).

Step 202, selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer.

In the present embodiment, the electronic device may select at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer. For example, the electronic device may select each layer of the neural network as the to-be-compressed layer.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, in response to the neural network including a convolutional layer and a fully connected layers (FC), the electronic device may select at least one convolutional layer and at least one fully connected layers as the to-be-compressed layers.

Step 203, performing processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network.

In the present embodiment, after selecting the to-be-compressed layer from the acquired neural network, the electronic device may perform the following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters (may be referred to as weights) of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method. Here, the initial value of the specified number may be, for example, 256 or the like. The initial value of the specified number may be adjusted according to actual needs.

In the field of digital signal processing, quantification generally refers to the process of approximating a continuous values of a signal (or a large number of possible discrete values) to a finite number (or a few) of discrete values. In the present embodiment, by quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer, partial connections between the to-be-compressed layer and the previous layer may share the same weight, and effective compression of the neural network may be achieved.

Here, assuming that the specified number is 256, the electronic device may first cluster the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer using a clustering algorithm (for example, a K-means algorithm) to obtain 256 parameter groups. Then, for each of the parameter groups, the electronic device may calculate an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter group, and use the average value as a mapping value. Then, the electronic device may quantify the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer using the obtained 256 mapping values. That is, each parameter is set to the mapping value corresponding to the parameter group in which the parameter is located. Then, the electronic device may train the quantified neural network based on the preset training sample using the machine learning method to restore the accuracy of the currently trained neural network to the original accuracy as much as possible.

It should be noted that, when the electronic device is training the quantified neural network, at least one round of training operations may be performed. After each round of training operations, the trained neural network may be used to perform a prediction operation on a preset test sample to determine the accuracy of the neural network.

It should be noted that the electronic device may fine-tune the neural network when training the quantified neural network. The advantage of fine-tuning is that the training efficiency may be improved without completely retraining the neural network, and a better result may be obtained after a relatively small number of iterations. For example, when the partial connections of at least one layer share the same weight, the current accuracy of the neural network is close to the original accuracy. In addition, during the training process, the electronic device may update the mapping value by using an average value obtained from the parameter gradient corresponding to the same mapping value.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, for each to-be-compressed layer, the electronic device may quantify the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on the specified number, and train the quantified neural network based on the preset training sample using the machine learning method by the following method:

First, the electronic device may perform the following quantifying training operations: determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer; quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on the training sample using the machine learning method; and stopping execution of the quantifying training operations in response to determining that an accuracy of the current trained neural network is not lower than a preset accuracy. Here, the preset accuracy may be the original accuracy of the neural network, or a value slightly lower than the original accuracy. The preset accuracy may be manually set, or may be set by the electronic device based on a preset algorithm, and the preset accuracy may be adjusted according to actual needs, which is not limited by the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the electronic device may sort the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer according to the parameter values (for example, in ascending order of the parameter value, or in descending order of the parameter value), and divide the sorted parameters into the specified number of parameter sequences. For example, the sorted parameters are A1, A2, . . . , A9, and the specified number is 3, then three parameter sequences may be divided, that is, the parameter sequence sequentially including the parameters A1, A2, and A3, the parameter sequence sequentially including the parameters A4, A5, and A6, and the parameter sequence sequentially including the parameters A7, A8, and A9. For each divided parameter sequence, the electronic device may determine the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence based on the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence. The electronic device may generate the set of mapping values from the determined mapping values corresponding to the specified number of parameter sequences respectively.

For each divided parameter sequence, if the number of the parameters in the parameter sequence is an odd number, the electronic device may determine the parameter value of the parameter in the intermediate position in the parameter sequence as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence. Alternatively, the electronic device may determine an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence, and determine the average value as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence. It should be understood that the present embodiment does not limit the method for determining the mapping value.

For each of the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, the electronic device may determine a target parameter sequence in which the each of the parameter is located in the specified number of parameter sequences, and set the each of the parameters to the mapping value corresponding to the target parameter sequence in the set of mapping values.

Then in response to determining that the accuracy of the currently trained neural network is lower than the preset accuracy, the electronic device may expand the specified number and re-execute the quantifying training operations. Here, the electronic device may expand the specified number by a specified multiple (for example, 2 times), or increase the specified number by a preset value (for example, 256 or the like) or the like to achieve expansion of the specified number.

Step 204, determining the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and storing the compressed neural network.

In the present embodiment, the electronic device may determine the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and may store the compressed neural network, for example, storing locally on the electronic device (such as a hard disk or a memory) or on a server in remote communication connection to the electronic device.

Here, for the layer of the compressed neural network on which the processing steps are performed, when storing the parameters of the layer, it is usually only necessary to store the newly determined set of mapping values corresponding to the layer, and index information of the mapping value corresponding to the quantified parameters of the layer. Here, the index information may include information of the location of the mapping value in the set of mapping values.

It should be noted that the parameters of the neural network are usually floating point numbers. A floating point number usually occupies 4 bytes of storage space. In addition, the determined mapping values are usually also floating point numbers. The index information of the mapping values usually occupies 1 byte of storage space. When storing the compressed neural network, only the set of mapping values of the mapping value corresponding to the parameter and the index information of the mapping value are stored for the quantified parameters, thereby effectively saving the storage space.

With further reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of the method for compressing a neural network according to the present embodiment. In the application scenario of FIG. 3, the initial value of the specified number is set to be 256. First, the server 301 may locally acquire the to-be-compressed trained neural network 302. Here, the neural network 302 may be a neural network included in a to-be-released application suitable for mobile devices, and the neural network 302 includes N layers, N is a natural number greater than zero. Then, the server 301 may select each layer in the neural network 302 as the to-be-compressed layer, and obtain a set of to-be-compressed layers 303. The set of to-be-compressed layers 303 may include the to-be-compressed layer 1, the to-be-compressed layer 2 . . . the to-be-compressed layer N. Then, the server 301 may perform the following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in the set of to-be-compressed layers 303 in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network 302: clustering parameters in the to-be-compressed layer to determine 256 mapping values; quantifying the parameter in the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameter as a mapping value in the 256 mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method, so that the currently trained neural network is restored to the original accuracy as much as possible. Finally, the server 301 may determine the neural network obtained by performing the processing steps on each of the to-be-compressed layers in the set of to-be-compressed layers 303 as the compressed neural network 304, and store the compressed neural network 304 locally. For the quantified parameter, only the 256 mapping values corresponding to the layer in which the parameter is located and the index information of the mapping value corresponding to the parameter in the 256 mapping values are stored.

The method provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure effectively utilizes the specified processing steps performed on the selected to-be-compressed layer to quantify the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, and trains the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using the machine learning method, so that the neural network may be restored to the original accuracy as much as possible, thereby achieving effective compression of the neural network.

With further reference to FIG. 4, as an implementation to the method shown in the above figures, the present disclosure provides an embodiment of an apparatus for compressing a neural network. The apparatus embodiment corresponds to the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and the apparatus may specifically be applied to various electronic devices.

As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus 400 for compressing a neural network of the present embodiment includes: an acquisition unit 401, a selection unit 402, a processing unit 403 and a storing unit 404. Here, the acquisition unit 401 is configured to acquire a to-be-compressed trained neural network. The selection unit 402 is configured to select at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer. The processing unit 403 is configured to perform the following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of the number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method. The storing unit 404 is configured to determine the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and store the compressed neural network.

In the present embodiment, in the apparatus 400 for compressing a neural network: the specific processing and the technical effects thereof of the acquisition unit 401, the selection unit 402, the processing unit 403, and the storing unit 404 may be referred to the related descriptions of step 201, step 202, step 203, and step 204 in the corresponding embodiment of FIG. 2, respectively, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the selection unit 402 may include: a selection subunit (not shown in the figure), configured to select, in response to the neural network including a convolutional layer and a fully connected layers, at least one of at least one convolutional layer or at least one fully connected layers as the to-be-compressed layer.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the processing unit 403 may include: a first processing subunit (not shown in the figure), configured to perform the following quantifying training operations: determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer; quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on the training sample using the machine learning method; and stopping execution of the quantifying training operations in response to determining that an accuracy of the current trained neural network is not lower than a preset accuracy; and a second processing subunit (not shown in the figure), configured to expand the specified number and re-execute the quantifying training operations in response to determining that the accuracy of the currently trained neural network is lower than the preset accuracy.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the first processing subunit may include: a dividing module (not shown in the figure), configured to sort the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer according to the parameter values, and divide the sorted parameters into the specified number of parameter sequences; a determination module (not shown in the figure), configured to determine, for each of the parameter sequences, the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences; and a generation module (not shown in the figure), configured to generate the set of mapping values from the determined mapping values corresponding to the specified number of parameter sequences respectively.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the determination module may be further configured to: determine the parameter value of the parameter in an intermediate position in the parameter sequence as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence, if the number of parameters in the parameter sequence is an odd number.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the determination module may be further configured to: determine an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence, and determine the average value as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the first processing subunit may include: a setting module (not shown in the figure), configured to determine, for each of the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, a target parameter sequence in which the parameter is located in the specified number of parameter sequences, and set the each of the parameters to the mapping value corresponding to the target parameter sequence in the set of mapping values.

In some alternative implementations of the present embodiment, the second processing subunit may be further configured to: increase the specified number by a preset value.

The apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure effectively utilizes the specified processing steps performed on the selected to-be-compressed layer to quantify the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, and trains the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using the machine learning method, so that the neural network may be restored to the original accuracy as much as possible, thereby achieving effective compression of the neural network.

Referring to FIG. 5, a schematic structural diagram of a computer system 500 adapted to implement an electronic device of the embodiments of the present application is shown. The electronic device shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example and should not impose any restriction on the function and scope of use of the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in FIG. 5, the computer system 500 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 501, which may execute various appropriate actions and processes in accordance with a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 502 or a program loaded into a random access memory (RAM) 503 from a storage portion 508. The RAM 503 also stores various programs and data required by operations of the system 500. The CPU 501, the ROM 502 and the RAM 503 are connected to each other through a bus 504. An input/output (I/O) interface 505 is also connected to the bus 504.

The following components are connected to the I/O interface 505: an input portion 506 including a keyboard, a mouse etc.; an output portion 507 comprising a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display device (LCD), a speaker etc.; a storage portion 508 including a hard disk and the like; and a communication portion 509 comprising a network interface card, such as a LAN card and a modem. The communication portion 509 performs communication processes via a network, such as the Internet. A drive 510 is also connected to the I/O interface 505 as required. A removable medium 511, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a semiconductor memory, may be installed on the drive 510, to facilitate the retrieval of a computer program from the removable medium 511, and the installation thereof on the storage portion 508 as needed.

In particular, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the process described above with reference to the flow chart may be implemented in a computer software program. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a computer program product, which comprises a computer program that is tangibly embedded in a machine-readable medium. The computer program comprises program codes for executing the method as illustrated in the flow chart. In such an embodiment, the computer program may be downloaded and installed from a network via the communication portion 509, and/or may be installed from the removable media 511. The computer program, when executed by the central processing unit (CPU) 501, implements the above mentioned functionalities as defined by the methods of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the computer readable medium in the present disclosure may be computer readable storage medium. An example of the computer readable storage medium may include, but not limited to: semiconductor systems, apparatus, elements, or a combination any of the above. A more specific example of the computer readable storage medium may include but is not limited to: electrical connection with one or more wire, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a fibre, a portable compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), an optical memory, a magnet memory or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, the computer readable storage medium may be any physical medium containing or storing programs which can be used by a command execution system, apparatus or element or incorporated thereto. The computer readable medium may be any computer readable medium except for the computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium is capable of transmitting, propagating or transferring programs for use by, or used in combination with, a command execution system, apparatus or element. The program codes contained on the computer readable medium may be transmitted with any suitable medium including but not limited to: wireless, wired, optical cable, RF medium etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

The flow charts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate architectures, functions and operations that may be implemented according to the systems, methods and computer program products of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each of the blocks in the flow charts or block diagrams may represent a module, a program segment, or a code portion, said module, program segment, or code portion comprising one or more executable instructions for implementing specified logic functions. It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions denoted by the blocks may occur in a sequence different from the sequences shown in the figures. For example, any two blocks presented in succession may be executed, substantially in parallel, or they may sometimes be in a reverse sequence, depending on the function involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagrams and/or flow charts as well as a combination of blocks may be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system executing specified functions or operations, or by a combination of a dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

The units or modules involved in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by means of software or hardware. The described units or modules may also be provided in a processor, for example, described as: a processor, comprising an acquisition unit, a selection unit, a processing unit, and a storing unit, where the names of these units or modules do not in some cases constitute a limitation to such units or modules themselves. For example, the acquisition unit may also be described as “a unit for acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network.”

In another aspect, the present application further provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium included in the apparatus in the above described embodiments, or a stand-alone non-transitory computer-readable storage medium not assembled into the apparatus. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs. The one or more programs, when executed by a device, cause the device to: acquire a to-be-compressed trained neural network; select at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; perform following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of a number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and determine the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and store the compressed neural network.

The above description only provides an explanation of the preferred embodiments of the present application and the technical principles used. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the inventive scope of the present application is not limited to the technical solutions formed by the particular combinations of the above-described technical features. The inventive scope should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combinations of the above-described technical features or equivalent features thereof without departing from the concept of the disclosure. Technical schemes formed by the above-described features being interchanged with, but not limited to, technical features with similar functions disclosed in the present application are examples. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for compressing a neural network, the method comprising: acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network; selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; performing following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of a number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and determining the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and storing the compressed neural network.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer comprises: selecting, in response to the neural network comprising a convolutional layer and a fully connected layers, at least one of at least one convolutional layer or at least one fully connected layers as the to-be-compressed layer.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method comprises: performing following quantifying training operations: determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer; quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on the training sample using the machine learning method; and stopping execution of the quantifying training operations in response to determining that an accuracy of the current trained neural network is not lower than a preset accuracy; and expanding the specified number and re-executing the quantifying training operations in response to determining that the accuracy of the currently trained neural network is lower than the preset accuracy.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer comprises: sorting the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer according to the parameter values, and dividing the sorted parameters into the specified number of parameter sequences; determining, for each of the parameter sequences, the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences; and generating the set of mapping values from the determined mapping values corresponding to the specified number of parameter sequences respectively.
 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the determining the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences comprises: determining the parameter value of the parameter in an intermediate position in the parameter sequence as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence in response to determining that a number of the parameters in the parameter sequence is an odd number.
 6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the determining the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences further comprises: determining an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence, and determining the average value as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence.
 7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values comprises: determining, for each of the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, a target parameter sequence in which the parameter is located in the specified number of parameter sequences, and setting the each of the parameters to the mapping value corresponding to the target parameter sequence in the set of mapping values.
 8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the expanding the specified number comprises: increasing the specified number by a preset value.
 9. An apparatus for compressing a neural network, the apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and a memory storing instructions, the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network; selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; performing following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of a number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and determining the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and storing the compressed neural network.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer comprises: selecting, in response to the neural network comprising a convolutional layer and a fully connected layers, at least one of at least one convolutional layer or at least one fully connected layers as the to-be-compressed layer.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method comprises: performing following quantifying training operations: determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer; quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values; training the quantified neural network based on the training sample using the machine learning method; and stopping execution of the quantifying training operations in response to determining that an accuracy of the current trained neural network is not lower than a preset accuracy; and expanding the specified number and re-executing the quantifying training operations in response to determining that the accuracy of the currently trained neural network is lower than the preset accuracy.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the determining a set of mapping values containing the specified number of mapping values based on parameter values of the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer comprises: sorting the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer according to the parameter values, and dividing the sorted parameters into the specified number of parameter sequences; determining, for each of the parameter sequences, the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences; and generating the set of mapping values from the determined mapping values corresponding to the specified number of parameter sequences respectively.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the determining the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences comprises: determining the parameter value of the parameter in an intermediate position in the parameter sequence as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence in response to determining that a number of the parameters in the parameter sequence is an odd number.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the determining the mapping value corresponding to the each of the parameter sequences based on the parameter values of the parameters in the each of the parameter sequences further comprises: determining an average value of the parameter values of the parameters in the parameter sequence, and determining the average value as the mapping value corresponding to the parameter sequence.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the quantifying the parameters of the to-be-compressed layer to set the parameters to the mapping values in the set of mapping values comprises: determining, for each of the parameters in the to-be-compressed layer, a target parameter sequence in which the parameter is located in the specified number of parameter sequences, and set the each of the parameters to the mapping value corresponding to the target parameter sequence in the set of mapping values.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the expanding the specified number comprises: increasing the specified number by a preset value.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising: acquiring a to-be-compressed trained neural network; selecting at least one layer from layers of the neural network as a to-be-compressed layer; performing following processing steps sequentially on each of the to-be-compressed layers in descending order of a number of level of the to-be-compressed layer in the neural network: quantifying parameters of the to-be-compressed layer based on a specified number, and training the quantified neural network based on a preset training sample using a machine learning method; and determining the neural network obtained after performing the processing steps on the selected at least one to-be-compressed layer as a compressed neural network, and storing the compressed neural network. 